RANGERS chairman David Murray has predicted that the new Scottish Premier League would flourish along the same lines as its English counterpart due to a multi-million deal with Sky television.
Murray claimed that the TV deal would enable standards to rise among the elite clubs in Scotland and would help the promotion of the game north of the Border. Under the #45m, four-year agreement, 30 live matches a season, including three Old firm games, will be played on a Sunday with a 6.05pm kick-off, a move which has raised concerns among supporters.
Sky have promised that each league ground will be visited for a live game in a season. The largest share of the payments will go to Celtic and Rangers as agreed by all the 10 clubs, with the rest determined by final league placings from last season and the number of home games each club will have televised from August.
Negotiations over terrestrial television rights for highlights of matches and title sponsorship of the new league set-up are continuing. ''This is a fantastic deal for Scottish football and justifies our confidence in the value of the game in Scotland,'' said Murray. ''We have worked hard to balance the best interests of the paying supporter and the armchair fan, while at the same time maximising the revenue coming into the game.
''We have seen the improvements to the English Premiership, which is due in no small part to the additional revenue and strong marketing which Sky has helped to bring to the game. We are confident that this deal will help to improve the quality and raise the profile of Scottish football.''
Stewart Milne, executive chairman of Aberdeen, who was involved throughout the negotiations, said the Sky package was the best option for building a stronger Scottish game.
The satellite company have the broadcasting rights for the Scotland international matches and the Tennents Scottish Cup, and winning the race for television rights to the majority of league matches means they have effectively a stranglehold on Scottish football.
Despite the positive noises from the men behind the deal, many supporters have voiced concern over parts of it. Martin Rose, of the Scottish Federation of Supporter's Clubs (SFSC) which represent thousands of fans of clubs in the Premier League, expressed disappointment at aspects of the agreement.
He said that supporters of teams like Aberdeen and the two Dundee clubs may be reluctant or even find it impossible to travel to see their teams involved in Sunday evening matches.
However, Rose said the deal, to run over four years, had to be seen in the context of the amount of the new cash coming into the clubs which could be spent of new players.
He warned clubs not to be caught in the spiral of escalating wages for players which has gripped the English Premiership.
''The money being paid south of the Border to players, where I believe the average wage is around #8000 a week, is ridiculous and Scottish fans won't want that repeated here,''said Rose.
''Supporters will expect better players in the game because of the extra money but to pay across the board huge wages isn't what the fans would want.''
Despite his concerns, Rose said that it was inevitable that television, after having put so much cash into the Scottish game, would want some control over it. ''Something like this was inevitable, and it could be argued that social trends have changed and playing football on a Saturday afternoon is a thing of the past.''
The strongest opposition came from Celtic and Rangers supporters clubs from outwith the central belt which have to travel lengthy distances to get to the games.
Paul McKenna, of Luton Celtic supporters club, said he felt it was disgusting that three out of the four Old Firm games had been switched to Sunday with an evening kick-off.
''The people who have put together this deal seem to forget that the Old Firm draw on supporters from all over Britain and Ireland,'' said McKenna.
''To have a kick-off so late on a Sunday means many people may have to take the Monday off work to attend.
''Many supporters of both clubs won't be happy about this.''
John Clark, of the Montrose Rangers supporters club, said they had to travel for nearly three hours just now to get to Ibrox. ''With a kick-off time just after six o'clock on a Sunday, it will make things difficult for people who want to get to the game,'' he said.
''It's bad enough for us now but it will be even worse for supporters who travel from Northern Ireland or England to get to the game.''
Vic Wakeling, head of Sky sport, said the Scottish games would follow after live coverage of an English Nationwide League game and a Premiership match on a Sunday.
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